Monday, July 31, 2017

Beef brisket in red wine with pink peppercorns

Ingredients1 piece of brisket1 medium carrot, chopped and 6 carrots with tops or about 10 chanteney carrots, left whole, trimmed and scrubbed2 small red onions1 large stick of celery, chopped1 rasher smoked streaky bacon, choppedAbout 6 chestnut mushrooms, quartered1 heaped teaspoon of pink pepper cornsa squeeze of tomato puree1 bottle of red wine - something robust and fruitya splash of brandy if you have any knocking aboutoil for fryingbutter for fryingpotato or corn flour to thicken the saucesalt and black pepper to season (and possibly a drop or two of Maple Syrup)EquipmentPressure cooker and an oven proof casserole dish that’s also ok on the stove top

MethodQuarter the red onions, leaving the base root part on, peel the quarters and trim the stringy bits of root. Season
the brisket with plenty of pepper and a little salt (the bacon will add
more salt) and brown well, all over, in a little oil in the pressure
cooker.Remove the beef and put the onions, chopped
carrot, celery and bacon in the pressure cooker. Add a little more oil
if necessary and when the veg start to brown. If you have some brandy
add a generous splash heat it up and then set fire to it.Put
the beef back and add about 3 quarters of the bottle of wine (put the
rest in a glass and drink it as you cook). Add a squeeze of tomato
puree. Bring to the boil and stir well to mix in any residue from the
frying that may be stuck to the bottom of the cooker. Let it boil for
about 5 minutes to reduce the wine a bit.Put the lid on the pressure cooker, bring up to full pressure and cook for about 30 minutes.Heat the oven to about 180 - 200.In
the oven proof casserole melt a good size knob of butter and gently fry
the whole carrots and the mushrooms. When they start to brown add a
heaped teaspoon of the flour and cook for another couple of minutes
stirring well with a wooden spoon.Remove the pressure
cooker from the heat and reduce the pressure quickly. Add the liquid
from the cooker to the casserole stirring well then add the rest of the
beef and vegetables.Add the pink peppercorns and adjust the seasoning. Depending on what wine you've used and whether or not you added the brandy you may feel that it needs to be slightly sweeter - in this case add a very little Maple Syrup.Put a lid on the casserole and put in the oven for about half an hour.To
serve remove the beef from the sauce and slice it up or just pull it
apart, put it on a plate and add carrots and pour over the sauce.Serve with mashed potatoes to soak up the gravy or, as you’ve got the oven on anyway, roast potatoes.